Yet another new system thread... (sorry)

[noom]

OK... I have decided on most parts of my system so far, but am torn in regards to SLi. While I have no intention of running an SLi system now, instead opting to run a single 8800gtx, I had liked the idea of being able to buy a second gtx in a year or two as a reasonable option for upgrade. I had decided to go for the new eVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1, which would let me do this while also providing support for the new yorkfield quads now missing from the nforce6 series (this also is a consideration for future upgradeability). I'll just list the other componants I've decided on before I go further;

CPU: Wolfdale C2D E8400
CPU Fan: ThermalTake Big Typhoon 120 VX
GPU: ScanFX 8800gtx
Ram: 2x1Gb OCZ Platinum ddr2 6400 (4-4-4-12) -better off getting another 2Gb while its cheap?
HDD: 500GB Hitachi Deskstar 7K500
Case: NZXT Lexa classic
PSU: Xclio Greatpower 650w modular
OS: Windows Vista 64bit (will most likely dual boot with my old copy of XP home 32bit...)

... and all the other bits and bobs, DVD drives and such.

Now however I'm not so convinced that the 780i chipset is the best idea. The monitor I'm using, an LG l226wtq, has a maximum resolution of 1680x1050, and from what I can tell SLi only becomes a great benefit above this resolution.

I also intend to moderately overclock the Wolfdale, hopefully to at least 3.6Ghz (9x400 to sync with the ram), and possibly higher if I can get it stable (I'm not too experienced of an overclocker though). I'm slightly put off the 780i chipset as of several mediocre reviews, especially in regards to overclocking, so am now thinking that I may be better off giving up on SLi and just going for the more stable p35 or x38 chipsets.

So what are people's opinions on this? The Asus Maximus Formula is looking like a good alternative to my planned eVGA 780i. The eVGA also has an apparant supply shortage, and potentially noisy northbridge fan going against it... what motherboards would people recommend?

Thanks in advance for any input!

[KiMi-Tech]

Dont bother with the SLi Idea. The £250ish you will spend doing SLi will buy you the latest and greatest at the time you would be considering SLi.

Personally I would stick with P35. It's solid, stable, tried and tested

Abit's IP-35pro is £88 until around 12pm on scans today only. That will do the job very nicely

If you really are insistant on dual graphics then think about an x38 to run crossfire ATi cards but again..its a bit of a waste.

One thing to consider is that the ATi HD3870 X2 is only £270 and I dare say that card will keep you happy for a good while yet. Coupled to the abit pro you are getting some serious bangs for bucks.

X-Clio power suppy..hmmm 520W corsair HX will do nicely and is of a superior quality.

Also check out the tower coolers rather than typhoon. Thermalright's Extreme 120 or ultima 90 are best of the bunch at the moment. Downwards facing coolers have a nasty habbit of warming the chipset in my experience.

[MSIC]

Agree with all that. Can't add anything.

[hermeticist]

I think it would be a good idea to get the extra 2GB of RAM now (if you feel you`ll need it - and if running Vista you may well), because it`s supposed to be pretty much rock-bottom price at the moment.

I`d go with KiMi-Tech`s suggestion, the Corsair PSU, although if you`re considering Xfire or SLI in the future the 620HX would give you more "upgradeability".

Xfire is slightly better with X38, due to 2x16 slots, but for the price difference probably not worth it - unless you fancy going 2x 3870x2. At your stated resolution I think that might be considered overkill!

[Webby]

Yeah the others have pretty much covered it, Corsair PSU would be the right thing to do a low quality cheap PSU is false economy when it goes pop you will need to buy a new one and replace whatever it took with it!

As for the CPU cooler I would go with the Thermalright Ultima 90 probably with an Scythe S-Flex 1600 as the 120mm fan, better cooling performance than the Thermaltake and probably a bit smaller as well.

Hard drive wise look at the Weston Digital AAKS drives quiet and fast as a fast things fast bits.

Oh and get the 4GB of memory if you can afford it might as well at these prices and you can never have to much

[noom]

Thanks for all the replies!

Having read up about the Abit IP35, I think I'm going to go ahead and buy one. SLi and xfire seem a waste of time; given that timescale I was applying to waiting to buy a second one, a completely new single GPU would probably end up being the better option anyway.

As for the PSU, I'm not certain. I've read in many places that the Greatpower is efficient, quiet, and very much reliable. Then again, given that I no longer need the extra wattage, the Corsair may well be the safer choice, and prices are almost identical on Scan too. Although the Greatpower has a nice rubber coating and pretty cables... ^_^

Now I just have to say damn you for pointing me towards the 3870x2... I was all decided on the 8800gtx and happy about it, but now it seems the slightly increased expenditure for the ATI card may be well worth the performance gain. I do have (entirely unfounded) reservations about the 3870x2; somehow cramming two GPUs onto one card seems like cheating... would it suffer the same limitations as a crossfire setup do you think, or would the increased performance be fairly consistent? Think I'll go do some more reading...



Oh, and as a final note, I've already bought the Thermaltake fan, so I'll be sticking to that ;p

[Thorsson]

1. The reviews so far suggest that there are no Xfire type limitations on the 3870x2.

2. As many who bought Hiper PSUs have found, pretty is as pretty does.

3. Shame you bought the Thermaltake. It's not that Tt are bad; they're just not in the top tier.

[Blitzen]

Yeah the others have pretty much covered it, Corsair PSU would be the right thing to do a low quality cheap PSU is false economy when it goes pop you will need to buy a new one and replace whatever it took with it!

As for the CPU cooler I would go with the Thermalright Ultima 90 probably with an Scythe S-Flex 1600 as the 120mm fan, better cooling performance than the Thermaltake and probably a bit smaller as well.

Hard drive wise look at the Weston Digital AAKS drives quiet and fast as a fast things fast bits.

Oh and get the 4GB of memory if you can afford it might as well at these prices and you can never have to much

The XCLIOs are definitely not low quality. They are very good and excellent value for money.

[DratUK]

For your GPU it would depend on what monitor size you intend running this rig on.
I have just plugged a 8800 GTS 512 running on a Quad CPU, display is Dell 24 inch.
Running fraps compared to my own GTX, the GTS is for a build i ma doing for a m8, it compares really well.

Considering that some reviews ar eshowing the GTS beating the GTX in some games I would plump for that and put the diff towards a HX 620.
The GTX is a great card dont get me wrong, but the GTS 512 is cooler and less demanding in power.
Your alternative to the 3870 X2 will be the 9800 from Nvidia due end of this month.
This will be 2 G92 on one card, same principle as the ATI.
If you have the patience I would wait for its release.

I have also hooked up the WD AAKS drive for this build that Webby reccomended, and I gotta agree fast and very very quiet.

Mobo Abit of course

Best of luck noom.

[noom]

I'm actually rather torn between the 3870x2, GTS 512mb, and GTX now...

The 3870x2, much like crossfire and SLi, seems like it will be of more benefit with higher resolutions. Higher than the 1680*1050 maximum provided by my 22" LG monitor really. It certainly doesn't help that some reviews are heralding it as the new king of graphics cards, while others show somewhat lackluster results. My instinct is still telling me to go for the safer single GPU Nvidia offerings, but on the other hand the 3870x2 has so much potential for quite significantly better performance. It all depends on ATI's ability to maintain decent drivers for it I guess...

Then there's also the issues of noise, and the amount of heat it'd be blasting out... altogether it's most confuddling : (

Right now I'm thinking 8800GTS; the ASUS EN8800GTS overclocked one looks a good choice.

[DratUK]

Its all down to driver support. If crossfire is not supported by the game then it'll operate as a single GPU card, somebody correct me if I am wrong.
Therefore better performance will come from the GTS.
The GTS will allow you more than adequate headroom with your 22 inch LG.
Crysis is probably the only game it'll cripple, but then it kills any card or combination of.
Think on this, provided the game runs at above 60 fps with the required eye candy then it really dosent matter which card you get. I would look to see what games you play and what games on the horizon you want to play and judge it from there.

[noom]

Well, I'm pretty set now. Rig currently stands at the following:

MoBo: Abit iP35 Pro
CPU: Wolfdale C2D E8400
CPU Fan: ThermalTake Big Typhoon 120 VX
GPU: eVGA GeForce 8800GTS 512mb
Ram: 2x1Gb OCZ Platinum ddr2 6400 (4-4-4-12)
HDD: 500GB Hitachi Deskstar 7K500
Case: NZXT Lexa classic
PSU: Xclio Greatpower 650w modular

I'm happy with this setup. May yet chuck in a couple more gigs of ram and a second hdd too, and maybe some UV lights and dayglo SATA cables just to be a geek...

Thankyou all for the advice. I shall probably be back here for more help when I try and overclock ^_^